Organic Bytes: Health, Justice and Sustainability News #160

Feb 05, 2009 -
Autumn from Peaceful Valley

Quote of the Week:
Why the Farming Crisis Has Everything to Do With the Economic Crisis

“We live off of what comes out of the soil, not what’s in the bank. If we squander the ecological capital of the soil, the capital on paper won’t much matter… For the past 50 or 60 years, we have followed industrialized agricultural policies that have increased the rate of destruction of productive farmland. For those 50 or 60 years, we have let ourselves believe the absurd notion that as long as we have money we will have food. If we continue our offenses against the land and the labor by which we are fed, the food supply will decline, and we will have a problem far more complex than the failure of our paper economy. Remember, if our agriculture is not sustainable then our food supply is not sustainable… Either we pay attention or we pay a huge price, not so far down the road. When we face the fact that civilizations have destroyed themselves by destroying their farmland, it’s clear that we don’t really have a choice.”Source: Wes Jackson, co-founder of The Land Institute, in an interview with Alternet—Read the Full Interview

OCF Alert of the Week:
Appetite for a Change Takes on School Food

The Organic Consumers Fund, Organic Consumers Association’s partner for legislative and electoral advocacy, has a new graduate student intern, Chantal Wei-Ying Clement, who is working on our Appetite for a Change campaign, lobbying Congress for healthy local and organic food to be included in the Child Nutrition Act. Read Chantal’s first report reviewing the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for updating the school lunch and breakfast programs. What changes would you make to school food? Write to Congress. Do you support the work the Organic Consumers Fund does in Washington, DC? Make an OCF membership donation of $5 or more.

Sustainability News of the Week:
Saving the Family Farm

While Congress debates a second major federal stimulus package, the banks are salivating in anticipation of their next payout. Meanwhile, thousands of family farmers find themselves squeezed between increased energy and production costs and a monopolized banking and distribution system bent on maximizing corporate profits. To stand up for the family farmer, a coalition of farm groups are pushing Congress to include loan restructuring for family farms as part of the economic stimulus package. As noted by Willie Nelson, the President of Farm Aid, “American family farmers are the backbone of our economy, the first rung on the economic ladder. When family farmers thrive, local economies thrive, and that’s a common-sense approach for rebuilding our country.”Learn moreImage by Frank Harris

Web Video and Book of the Week:
Agenda for a New Economy - Rebirth of the Local Economy and Family Farmer

The first 100 days of the current presidency will be the most heavily scrutinized in history, and the number one concern for the new administration is the financial crisis. Desperation has driven many to support approaches that are just re-infusions of lifeblood capital into the dying appendages of Wall Street—treating the symptoms rather than curing the disease. A new book by author David Korten offers a better approach: dismantle Wall Street, and its foundation of phantom wealth, spinning gold from nothing. And bring into being a new economy-locally based, community oriented, and devoted to creating a better life for all, for generations to come. David Korten says the ideal banking system emulates farmer’s markets.Watch and learn more

Sustainability Tip of the Week:
A Consumer’s Guide to Sustainable Sushi

The sushi that we eat today is derived from traditional recipes that are hundreds of years old. Back then, the oceans seemed to have an endless supply of fish. The increasing popularity of sushi cuisine has created a massive and often unsustainable demand for multiple species of fish that most Americans didn’t even know existed. So, how is the green-minded consumer supposed to know which of these exotic fish are sustainably harvested and safe to eat? Scientists at Monterey Bay Aquarium recently analyzed the data and put together a handy and practical “Seafood Watch Sushi Pocket Guide” that helps you order seafood that’s sustainable and healthy.Download and print it

Organic Geek News of the Week:
Do You Twitter?

The OCA is now on Twitter! We will be posting from our news feed, as well as new campaigns, alerts, and anything else we think you’ll like! Get OCA news anywhere and everywhere you go.Sign up: http://twitter.com/organicconsumer